Ever since I discovered La Strada a couple of months back, I have been its faithful patron. But I have to admit, most of the time, I just end up sharing a pizza and pasta (likely the carbonara).

Today, we were back for lunch and I had the vongole for the first time. My vongole lived up to its expectations - the clams were juicy and I liked that the white wine did not overwhelm the dish. Side note: My mother had the dish the last time and the waiter crudely told her when she was undecided "this dish is very good for old people. The capellini very thin and easy to eat". I remember gaping at him, he certainly was not being mean spirited and my mum is luckily the jolly type, but I don't quite think the comment was appropriate (!!).

I'm chiefly writing this review because of a very disturbing dish of ravioli that my friend had. I will likely continue to return to La Strada, but gosh, the ravioli broke every rule in any Italian nonna's cookbook! The biggest sin ever - the ravioli pieces had skin that were thick enough to resemble tough bouncy wanton. No no no no no. If a restaurant wants to serve ravioli, it has to be able to walk the fine line between serving skin thin enough to hold the ingredients without breaking and yet not thick enough to make socks out of them.

Oh boy.

So the girlfriend is the hugest fan of truffles and she's been wanting to come to La Strada to try their much hyped about carbonara. The previous time we came here (and I was unimpressed), they had sold out on carbonara so we had to make another trip there.

Ambience

Located along Claymore road, the restaurant to privy to a hosts of nice cars driving past. It was a quiet Saturday afternoon (maybe reflective of the economic turmoil) and there were only 3 tables occupied. The interiors of the place leans towards the posh side and the atmosphere can be described simply as comfortable. Ambient lighting made the place cheery on a Saturday afternoon and affords its patrons some semblance of relaxation from the hectic week.

Food

So the girlfriend literally had to drag me down this time since I was quite unimpressed with this establishment previously. Was seated immediately and menu presented to us. Waiter kindly briefed us through the soup of the day, pasta of the day and the pizza of the day.

There was the complimentary bread basket. Consisted of one slice of bread each slightly charred and one slice of pizza which I found to be a bit wanting.

I had the 2-course set lunch while the girlfriend of course, had the carbonara.

I had the soup of the day, a green pesto minestrone which was unique to say the least. I would akin the taste to a typical chinese soup because of the particular choice of vegetables. It was a clear soup which was tampered with green pesto to enhance the flavours of the soup. Very untypical italian but nonetheless a light and refreshing appetizer which brings some harmony to the system before embarking on the mains.

From the selection of pasta of the day, grilled salmon, pizza of the day and the beef stew, I chose the beef stew. It was presented on top of potato mash and it had stewed carrots it in. Was all ready for a hearty meal but I found the beef too salty. It was sufficiently tender but the meat was overwhelmed by the sauce which was too salty which ruined the meat, the carrots and even the potato. (flashback of Zhang Ziyi - the soup is too salty). I refuse to accept bad food from a premier dining institute, much less one owned by the prestigious les amis group. I sent it back.

By now, my appetite was waning and I had a mushroom aglio olio instead. The pasta was nicely done al dente and the spices mixed with the olive oil made this a delightful dish. My only gripe was that it was a bit "wet", not from olive oil though - I think it could have been drained better. The mushrooms were a joy to consume though, succulent and juicy.

The girlfriend was a happy girl after the meal because she had her carbonara. The egg on top the creamy base pasta with bacon bits. The essence of the truffle butter was infused into the pasta and she happily chomped it down, slowing down only to offer me a bit. I thought the sauce was brilliantly done and the girlfriend readily agreed in between silly grins of happiness.

There is a complimentary coffee which goes together with the set lunch and by my standards, it was a good grade of coffee.

Service

Service was very good. We were briefed about the chef's specials and the service was prompt, precise and never unnecessary. I generally refrain from sending things back to the kitchen but the wait-staff here was courteous and apologetic, offering to replace the beef stew and giving me a choice of other dishes. I was suitably impressed by their professionalism and had to drop them an extra tip to show my appreciation.

Verdict

Value wise this place is definitely pricey but you pay for the exclusivity of dining there. Food-wise I would say that it is acceptable but still room for improvement. Will we be back? Probably, since the girlfriend is a truffle addict. =)

A first at Italian dining at its best for both of us. 3 course lunch it was, after googling all the known Italian eateries island-wide. La Strada it had to be, for the location, for all the raving reviews.

I made bookings one week in advance, making clear instructions for a "cosy corner" for my sis whom I celebrating a birthday for. Very professional over the phone, of course.

Freeflow of warm bread. Lightly toasted bread and warm tomato pizza topped with cheese. We had two servings of pizza! The bread's chewy and tasty, simple ingredients yet tasted so good. Dipped in olive oil, I say oohlala. We loved it.

My starter of pasta of the day. Penne carbonara with 4 different types of mushrooms. The portion's quite big for a starter. The penne wasn't too soft, slightly hard with a bite. The mushrooms were really delicious. I'm not a carbonara person but it blew me away. I found myself licking the plate clean.

The sister's choice of soup of the day, pumpkin soup! I found it a little on the sweet side.

My mains of pizza of the day; 7 inch asparagus, mozarella cheese, ham and peppers wood-fire baked pizza. This is slightly different from the pizza bread. Not as chewy but equally delicious. My first time trying asparagus on pizza! The cheese shavings are a first too! Shaved SO fine, it melts in your mouth literally. I stole a bite of quite a few servings of cheese shavings! Not salty.

It was a "hot plate" served quite hot, to maintain the warmness of the pizza and refraining it from becoming cold. Brilliant move.

The sister's mains, Char grilled 70 day grainfed sirloin with sauteed forest mushroom and mesclun salad, medium. The sirloin's sooo tender and melts in your mouth! The salad's got a refreshing burst of flavours, probably due to the balsamic vinegar. The sirloin steak sat atop a bed of mushrooms that by this time, I declined trying any. I had way too many mushrooms for the meal.

Hers, warm berries clafoutis with vanilla ice-cream that came piping hot. The bowl was sooo hot!I found it somewhat tasteless but that brought out the taste of the berries. The sis liked it though.

My cannoli filled with white chocolate mousse and raspberry sorbet. Delightful on the palette, the sherbet's slightly sour, the crunchy almond flakes at the bottom gave it an added crunch. The canolli's a crunchy pistachio covered biscuit shell, filled with a light creamy white chocolate mousse. Wasn't as soft as mousse, it had more bite. Yummy. Loved it. A really awesome finish.

Food-wise, I cannot complain. All three courses were satisfying, the sight, the smell and taste, equally outstanding. It ain't that pricey after all, for the quality of food and service. The portions weren't as bite-sized as originally thought, in fact, much more than anticipated. We were really stuffed.

Indeed, service level at such "atas" places matches the price you pay. But truly, La Strada's comes across as unpretentious good service. For the number of times they've surprised me, I say..well done! They take pride in making sure mains, appetizers, desserts are removed promptly and arrive together. They don't hound you endlessly with the irritating phrase "do you need anything else?" which I take as a hint of "order some more!". Neither do they hover like an irritating housefly to chase you away once you're done with the meal.

2 hours it took, a good 2 hours that we enjoyed tremendously. A slow lunch for once! They change their menus on a monthly basis, the website isn't that updated though.

Customers were still streaming in even after we left at 2pm.

La Strada, I'm sure I'll be back! For exquisite food, for ambience...for service. I'm a mighty pleased customer.

for pictures; http://thefoodchapter.blogspot.com/2008/10/la-strada-shaw-centre.html

This is the first time I had gone back to La Strada since chef Leandro left and I must say I was a little disappointed. While Leandro was there I went to La Strada pretty frequently and every time the food was excellent. This time, although we had some good dishes there are an equal number of less than memorable ones.

For entree I had a mesclun salad with shaved parmesan cheese. It was just ok. I chose to order pasta as a main and the penne with lamb ragout was quite good. I wish they replenished the bread basket so I could'be mopped up the sauce. One of my friends had an eggplant parmesan as entree, which she said was good. Her main dish of cod looked plain and tasted bland. Another friend's main dish of beef was a little on the tough side.

My dessert of cannoli filled with pistachio cream with raspberry sorbet was so good I devoured it in just a few bites. The warm berry clafoutis was average, whereas the tiramisu, served in a coffee cup, was watery.

Maybe next time I should order a la carte and stick to pasta and pizza because that seems to be what they do best.

The Carbonara here is truly mind blowing. Salty ham, shavings of cheese and oodles and oodles of buttery sauce. The egg on top is cooked to perfection as well, runny enough, but without making you feel like you’re going to be needing the toilet after. The dish is very rich, but the portion is small so it’s easily managed. I note someone said the pasta tasted eggy like maggie mee – that’s pretty apt ( my husband said the same thing not having read any reviews) but I think slightly unfair because unlike Maggie mee, there is nothing plastic or artificial tasting about the pasta here. Yes it’s eggy, but it’s also very good.

Less so the set lunch, I must say. My companions had the beef tenderloin which was a bit too rare for my liking and spectacularly uninspiring (think feeble, gray coloured piece of meat, with a scattering of fries- it looked like something you’d get at an average hawker centre western food stall ). The fries admittedly were nice and fat, but hey, you know it’s not good when your side dish looks like the best part of the main meal. My carbonara cost more than the set lunch ($30), but I think it was better value.( I was frankly surprised, because les amis does amazing set lunches which really do give you bang for your buck.)

The semi freddo which came with the set lunch was good though, and so is the assorted dessert platter, which I’ve had before at dinner.